through Indigenous Self-Governance in BC, Canada By Elle Sina - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Indigenous Sovereignty: Redefining Colonial Perceptions of Sovereignty through Indigenous Self-Governance in BC, Canada By Elle Sina Raanes Sørensen

Wet’suwet’en

1) How do settler states assert sovereignty over Indigenous nations, specifically in areas with unceded territory? Research 2) How do Indigenous nations negotiate, and attempt to Questions assert sovereignty over their traditional lands with the settler state? 3) How does Indigenous people’s connection to land affect their definition of sovereignty?

Sovereignty Westphalian sovereignty: ● Loyalty and support from population ● Mutually recognized by other sovereign states ➔ Complete authority over a specific geographical area, without interference from outside sources Both nation, by their own definitions, have a legitimate claim to the land Redefining the concept of sovereignty ● Importance of land ● Protection of land vs. economical exploitation

● It proves that Indigenous nations can self-govern without a treaty ● Asserting sovereignty without a treaty can compromise the power Why is this of a settler state and challenge their important? claim to sovereignty ● It challenges the term sovereignty ● It focuses on a relevant, ongoing case, contributing valuable information to Indigenous nations

Thank You! QUESTIONS?

Sources Agnew, John. 2005. “Sovereignty Regimes: Territoriality and State Authority in Contemporary World Politics.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers , 95 (2): 437-461. Blackburn, Carole. 2005. “Searching for Guarantees in the Midst of Uncertainty: Negotiating Aboriginal Rights and Title in British Columbia.” American Ethnologist 107 (4): 586-596. Blackburn, Carole. 2007. “Producing Legitimacy: Reconciliation and the Negotiation of Aboriginal Rights in Canada.” Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute , 13 (3): 621-638. McCreary, Tyler. 2014. “The Burden of Sovereignty: Court Configurations of Indigenous and State Authority in Aboriginal Title Litigation in Canada.” North American Dialogue 17 (2): 64-78. Wiessner, Siegfried. 2008. “Indigenous Sovereignty: A Reassessment in the Light of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 41 (1141): 1141-1176.